CPU guide for December 2022

Kevin Hofer

12-12-2022

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Want to build a new PC, but not sure which CPU to use? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you need it for gaming or your workstation, this is where you’ll find the right CPU.

In 2022, Intel and AMD have been in a fierce battle with their new CPUs. For now, Intel has come out on top; albeit not as strongly as in previous years. Nevertheless, I’ve included at least one CPU by each manufacturer in each category of this guide.

The categories are: gaming, workstations and best all-rounder. As I didn’t test all CPUs myself, I relied on the results of various trade publications including AnandTech, Tom’s Hardware, Gamers Nexus, ComputerBase and TechSpot.

Best gaming CPU

Best value-for-money CPU

Best budget gaming CPU

In terms of price, the 13700K and 5800X3D are more attractive. Here’s my review of them.. They offer more FPS for your francs than any of the top CPUs. What’s more, both are also compatible with DDR4 mainboards, which reduces the price for the overall system.

At the lower end of the price range, you’ll find the Intel i5-12400(F) and AMD 5600X/5600G. Given their price, these CPUs really deliver impressive gaming performance.

However, specialised workstation processors are very pricey. These days, even standard desktop CPUs have many cores and perform well in workstation-specific tasks. Therefore, they should performance sufficiently for most applications. Meanwhile, Intel can also handle these kinds of tasks thanks to the quality performance and efficiency of its cores. Here come the best CPUs in a nutshell. There’s more info below.

Best workstation CPU

Best value-for-money workstation CPU

Best budget workstation CPU

Armed with 64 cores and 128 threads, the 5995WX is a beast. If you need many cores and threads for VFX or 3D animations, this is the best CPU out there. Yes, the price is still crazy high. A more reasonable alternative would be the 5975WX with 32 cores and 64 threads. Its performance should suffice for most people.

AMD and Intel’s consumer desktop flagships prove that you don’t necessarily need a workstation-specific CPU these days. Both the 13900K and 7950X offer enough cores to efficiently handle many computing-intensive tasks.

It may seem a bit out of place to say budget in the same sentence as 13700K and 7900X processor. After all, they tend to be in the higher price range in the consumer desktop segment. But you need a lot of power for a workstation, otherwise it wouldn’t be a workstation, but an office computer.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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